Learn to Swim

Learn to Swim is a Canadian drama film written by Thyrone Tommy and Marni Van Dyk and directed by Tommy in his feature-length directorial debut. The film centres on a stormy romantic relationship between Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and Selma (Emma Ferreira), two talented but troubled jazz musicians.^[1]

Learn to Swim
Directed by	Thyrone Tommy
Written by	Marni Van Dyk Thyrone Tommy
Produced by	Alona Metzer
Starring	Thomas Antony Olajide Emma Ferreira
Cinematography	Nick Haight
Edited by	Baun Mah Shaun Rykiss
Music by	Chester Hansen Leland Whitty Tika Simone
Production company	Leilani Films
Distributed by	Mongrel Media
Release date	September 11, 2021 (2021-09-11) (TIFF)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.^[2][3] Both Olajide and Ferreira were named among TIFF's annual Rising Stars program for emerging actors.^[1]

Critical response

Norman Wilner of Now rated the film four N's, writing that "from one angle it could be A Star Is Born; from another, maybe it's Once. But music – especially jazz – is all about taking the standards and reinterpreting them into new forms, giving us something new that we can still recognize in flashes. That's what Tommy and co-writer Marni Van Dyk are doing with Learn To Swim, scrambling time and weaving other storylines into Dezi and Selma's collaboration."^[4]

For the National Post, Chris Knight wrote that "In all honestly you could probably sit back, close your eyes and just listen to the music, but then you’d be missing out on the beautifully interwoven story of romance. After all, when someone presents you with a lovingly crafted mix tape, you don’t just listen to side one."^[5]

Distribution

In 2022, the film was acquired for release on Netflix by Ava Duvernary's distribution company ARRAY.^[6]

Awards

The film was a nominee for the DGC Discovery Award at the 2021 Directors Guild of Canada awards.^[7] and was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021.^[8]

The film received two Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, for Best Actor (Olajide) and Best Original Song ("And Then We Don't" by Tika Simone and Casey Manierka-Quaile).^[9] Simone and Manierka-Quaile won Best Original Song.^[10]